


Cuffed Loyalty

by WhoopsieDaisies (CosmogyralVikings)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Force Bond (Star Wars), Hux has Ambitions, M/M, Manipulation, Resistance Member Ben Solo, That's Not How The Force Works, ben has brief stint as a smuggler, ben is trying his best, kind of an, krb mini bang 2017, leia is hard to understand, they dont quite like each other yet im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-17 14:40:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11853678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmogyralVikings/pseuds/WhoopsieDaisies
Summary: "I want you to contact the First Order," As much as Ben wanted to do the same thing, he stood in shock at actually hearing the words."How?" he sputtered, and looking to his left he saw that Poe was in much the same situation of shock and confusion.Leia smiled, "you're going on a diplomatic mission."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So this is the first work I've done in fandom in years so I'm not sure what this will be like, but it was fun challenge to make and I enjoyed working with my partner for the Reverse Big Bang, KyloKnightOfHux! I also have to give a shoutout to my lovely beta that caught all the mistakes I made (and there were plenty), [Bioticnerfherder](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/bioticnerfherder)! This has been a journey in rediscovering writing and I hope you enjoy! Art, courtesy of [KyloKnightOfHux](http://kyloknightofhux.tumblr.com/), will be linked [here](http://kyloknightofhux.tumblr.com/post/164546047686/kylux-reverse-bang-main-piece-for-cuffed-loyalty) and posted at the end!

Ben had known anger, and though much of it had been his own, he could also tell when others felt things strongly too. He could feel it, almost as if the feelings were his own. Sometimes it would be fun; sometimes he would feel the amusement everyone around him felt, back when he was little and still had some semblance of an adorable child. Later, things became harder. He could feel when others didn't like him, he could tell when they were disappointed in him, or worst of all: when they were angry. It had been hard at first, to tell whether or not they were angry with him.

When a flare of anger blossomed in the back of his skull with an intensity that he had never known before, Ben was scared. He knew instantly who was mad, and he wondered if it would be particularly bad if he left the planet before his mother found out and directed her anger at him; assuming it wasn’t him to begin with. 

"Ben," Poe's voice came through the speaker on the panel by the door before he could do anything. Like hide under his covers. "The General wants to see you in the main tactics room." 

Ben sighed and dragged his hands down his face, resigning himself to a long day. There had been a point, when he was staying with Luke on some dreary planet in the middle of bumfuck nowhere space, when he wanted to come back. There were other times, now being a prime example, when he wished he could have stayed longer. He knew they had reasons for both sending him away and bringing him back, but that didn't mean he had to like it. And Ben let them know that. Frequently and loudly.

Upon entering the room, Ben could tell that this was no ordinary meeting. The concern he held for Leia's emotional state only grew the longer she refused to address the room. There was something she was looking at on the padd in front of her. He cleared his throat. Leia looked up at him. 

"Ah, yes," she met Ben's eyes and looked like she did right before something went wrong. Usually for him. "We've just received a transmission from the Outer Rim, anonymous source. A very real fear has been realized," she paused for breath, or effect. Ben was never sure which. "Starkiller is ready, and they are planning an attack." 

The room burst into a cacophonous mass. Ben's mind was assaulted with the intensity of emotions.

"Who says we can trust this?" someone yelled.

"Can we trust this 'anonymous' source?" shouted someone else. Ben thought it could have been Poe. 

Ben wanted to meditate, to clear a safe spot in his mind where he could search with the Force for answers to what Leia had just told them. He was sure there would be a way of detecting who had sent the files, but he also knew that the Force was not always the answer.

"Can I see the files?" he dared to ask as he sidled up next to Leia in the middle of all the ruckus. She nodded and let him see the screen she had been holding. There wasn't much information to be seen, other than a bare bones plan for what looked like a Death Star and a few notes about the Hosnian system. Ben's lips ticked down at the corners and he looked back up at Leia.

"This is all we have?" he asked. Leia looked grave, but nodded her resolve. He wasn't sure what to make of it. As far as Ben could tell, there was nothing to be gleaned about whom it had come from or what they were going to do about it.

"What do you plan to do, General?" Poe asked, coming up to stand next to them. 

Leia looked up and over the room. 

"I want you to contact the First Order," As much as Ben wanted to do the same thing, he stood in shock at actually hearing the words.

"How?" he sputtered, and looking to his left he saw that Poe was in much the same situation of shock and confusion. 

Leia smiled – the one she always denied having,  _ especially _ to Han.

"You're going on a diplomatic mission." 

It was final then; Ben was going to get his adventure, but at what price? Did she not realize that they were likely to be captured or killed before the Order listened? Ben shook his head and left the room. 

Leia had given him a file on what she wanted, at the top of the list had been General Hux. Ben had no idea how he was supposed to manage that.  

Sometime halfway through packing his bag, he heard Poe come in the room. He didn't say anything. He never really did anymore. Ben was never certain when it had happened, because he had always struggled with his anger and finding "healthy" ways to handle it, but he suspected he had done something Poe would never forget. When he had thrown the last of his clean pants into the bag he looked around, sure he was forgetting something. It was a universal rule that he always forgot something. 

"Here," Poe said, handing him his lightsaber. The one he never used, because it was so close to being broken, and the reminder that he failed at even that simple task was painful enough. But it was still his.

"Thanks," Ben tucked the weapon under his tunic and turned to go out the door. 

The path to the hangar bay from the living quarters was shorter only for the pilots compared to Ben. They didn't need to stop for Poe, his bag already slung over his shoulder as they made their way to the beat up old  _ Falcon _ in the back. Ben refused to fly anything else, and the Resistance, being what they were, didn't have the budget for anything bigger or newer.

Poe automatically took the co-pilot's seat and began to initiate the starting sequence while Ben got himself settled in and went through all of the other checks. There was nothing wrong that he could see, however much the  _ Falcon _ seemed very lonely without Han there to make terrible jokes and life decisions with. Ben wondered if he would ever see the man again; who knew where he had kriffed off to this time. At least he had left the  _ Falcon _ to Ben. 

"Know where we're going?" Poe asked as Ben settled into the pilot's seat and began to finish prepping the ship.

Ben nodded, "I have an idea." 

Poe looked over at him like he had something more to say or ask, but he stayed quiet. Ben made a face; it was almost painful to sit and feel awkward with someone who had been his closest childhood friend. 

"Let's go."

 

#

 

They had been cruising for a while before Ben could tell they were close to where they wanted to be. He had been deep in an almost meditative state for long enough for him to tell where something that had been purposefully obscured was, its location situated in the exact distance and direction they were headed. The Outer Rim had been known for being ignored and exploited by the Core; that was, until the Order rose up and demanded attention. The current obstruction that Ben could feel was something he could easily recognize: it was how he had hidden himself since he was a child. How he had taught Rey to win all the games of hide and seek they had ever played. There was something here that someone did not want him to see. And Ben was determined to see what.

"What's that up there?" Ben was jerked from his thought process and looked where Poe was pointing. From where he was sitting it seemed like there was nothing there, just a blackness that seemed like a shadow. But if there was a shadow, then there had to be something there; something huge.

"I think we've found our Order," he said and maneuvered the  _ Falcon _ in that direction. 

Poe let out a little whoop and sprung into action. Ben handed him the conn and dug deep into himself to gather the energy to mask them and their approach of the giant ship that could finally be identified as a Resurgent-Class Battlecruiser.

"Go to the upper loading dock, just there," he said as he moved out of the seat and began to gather his supplies and shove them into his belt. His last check was of his lightsaber, making sure he still had it with him. The  _ Falcon _ shuddered and jerked as it pulled into place within the hanger. Ben had hoped that no one would be in this one, but the Force wasn't always perfect.

"Ready, fly boy?" Poe gave him a large grin, one Ben was sure wasn't really for him but for the moment. He nodded.

The second they left the gangway all hell broke loose, blaster fire coming at them from all directions. Ben grabbed his own blaster and let off a few shots before moving down and closer to the doors. He could see officers watching from above. A few shots and a few poorly aimed mistakes later, all of the cameras in the area were smoke. 

"Well, that went well," Ben laughed and turned to look around at the space. "There's our door," he said, pointing, "there."

The door itself was just like the rest of the ship: grey steel and automated with identification. Ben ripped the box out of the wall, muttered something under his breath and then shoved it back in place with a light beep signaling them to go through. From what Ben could tell, they were closer to the officers than the 'troopers, but that still meant that they didn't know where to go for Hux. Ben knew that he would be somewhere very high profile due to his rank, but that still didn't help them much.

"Know where a directory is?" he whispered to Poe, who was staring around the corner, looking for more 'troopers. 

Poe shook his head but pointed further down the corridor. "Maybe you can ask one of them?" 

Ben wanted to shake him and tell him that that was not how the Force worked. Instead, Ben snuck around Poe and made his way soundlessly to the trooper holding a guard position.

Ben had always felt that waving his hand to make a suggestion was stupid, but the temptation was there as he instructed "show me General Hux's rooms" with feeling to the 'trooper. The trooper nodded, repeating the words back to him as if the idea had been its own.

After waving to Poe to follow them, they made their way down into a lift, which Ben immediately disabled the camera in, and then down another long, plain set of steel grey paneling. The door that faced them when they came to a halt was the same as any other and Ben began to question his abilities.

"C'mon man, we can't be out here all day," Poe mumbled as he was reaching for the pin pad. Once the beep of confirmation was heard, they dismissed the 'trooper and went inside.

If he was looking forward to seeing the insides of the General's room, he would have been disappointed. There was nothing personal about it. There was one set of everything: one cup for caff, one chair at one desk, one set of towels for the water shower. Ben was surprised, mostly because he would have thought his lack of things was more minimal, but he was proven wrong. The room was almost clinical to the point of being sterile; a cleaning bot probably came in every day while the general did whatever he did on the giant ship. Ben thought it best to place himself on the chair in the sitting room and wait for Hux to return, telling Poe to snoop around to see what he could gather about the man.

 

#

 

The moment the cameras were down in the top most hangar, Hux knew something was wrong.

"Silent alert!" He shouted, stalking over to the nearest station to look over the footage and try to understand what had happened. He could tell nothing from it, but he could see the path of doors that had been activated since the incident. None had been opened with a key card registered on the  _ Finalizer _ . They led to his rooms.

Hux wasn't sure what he was expecting when he arrived; maybe some form of assassin waiting for him to enter and pick him off, or more likely: a bounty hunter hoping to make a large gain off of his head. Finding an overly large man with long hair and some metal hunk in his hands was  _ definitely _ not on his list. He didn't know how to react.

"Hello, General," he said, and Hux knew he was out of his depth. "Take a seat." 

Hux looked around; he knew that his rooms only had one set of everything, including only one chair. He refused to sit on the floor like he was lesser than this man. Whomever he was.

"I'll stand, thank you." 

The man shrugged.

"Suit yourself," the man tossed his metal something between his hands and he looked over his shoulder, back into Hux's rooms. Suddenly, he realised the man wasn't alone and cursed himself for his oversight. Hux tensed and tried to hide the fact that his hands had balled up and that he was shaking. Whether with fear or rage, he wasn't sure. Possibly both. Despite the fact that he had promised himself he wouldn't fear anyone again, he felt himself exposed in front of this stranger in his rooms.

"I suppose it would be pointless to ask you to leave. What do you want?" Hux tried to keep his voice flat and even, a mockery of how he sounded on the bridge. The man's lips quirked up on one side as he stared at Hux, mentally seeming to take him apart. Hux felt a tickle at the base of his skill and moved his hand to rub at it without consciously meaning to betray himself as he did.

"We know what you're planning, General Hux." He wondered what the man meant. Was he referring to the Order's plans for the Hosnian system, or did he mean their goals to wipe out the Resistance? "And I suggest you don't bother trying to resist me." It was on the top of his tongue to ask what he meant, but he could felt the world going black before he could even feel the floor rush up to greet him. 

 

#

 

Ben wasn't sure how to feel once he’d made the general pass out. They had to get him out of there, but he was sure that it would have been better to have Hux get them out. Now Poe and Ben were stuck with dragging an unconscious general out of the Order's flagship unnoticed.  _ Totally _ possible.

"Well," Poe said, looking over at the general's form on the floor. Ben hadn't bothered to help him fall and it would hurt later. "Time to find a way out I guess."

Ben nodded and went to hoist the man up onto his shoulders while Poe was opening the door when he thought it was clear. They made their way down the corridors much in the same fashion as they had before – only now Ben was wondering who would be watching their progress if it wasn't the general, and how they would come to detain them. Ben imagined it would be with blasters and disposable soldiers with horrible aim.

When they reached the doors that would lead onto the loading dock, the doors refused to open and the words in Basic blared  _ ‘silent alarm.’  _ Ben cursed under his breath and frantically began to search the general's pockets for his identification, sure it would get them through.

"Aha!" Ben nearly dropped the other man in his excitement to get the door open and get the hell out of dodge. "Poe, take this and open the doors when we get to the Falcon."

The dash from the doors to the ship was further than Ben remembered, and he was getting tired of holding up the general. He didn't feel like being closer to him than was required, and despite his relatively small stature, Hux weighed more than Ben had been expecting.

Ben could feel the eyes of the officers on his back as they ran to the ship. He knew that there was going to be trouble very soon, especially if they failed to find their General. The trouble began when the doors opened and a flood of 'troopers came out in formation. Then the doors to the dock began to shut and Ben knew he was in a pinch.

"Poe, you better be ready in there!" The shout echoed along the walls and around as he ducked for the first plasma bolt shot at his head. Surprisingly, these troopers had better aim than their predecessors.

The second the  _ Falcon's _ doors had shut, Ben launched himself for the pilot's seat, sparing no thought for the general lying on the ground, unsecured. The 'trooper formation had advanced and was close to cutting them off from leaving, the doors nearly shut all the way.

Once Ben was seated and the  _ Falcon _ was ready to take off, he dug deep into himself and, with a large amount of effort, shoved the 'troopers out of their way. The  _ Falcon _ burst through the doors and out into the black abyss, Poe's "whoop!" followed.

 

#

 

His head hurt and the light sound of engines running on his ship had been replaced by the louder, older sound of a smaller ship. He knew that he should get up as quietly as he could and begin to take stock of where he was, who he was with, and plan his way out. He knew the  _ Finalizer _ would most likely survive without him, but his pride would not allow the thought of him not being there. Especially so close to the plans they had finalized regarding the Republic and Starkiller Base. It was imperative that Hux be there to go over last minute checks and serve as the best direct liaison between the Order and Supreme Leader.

The moment he opened his eyes, he wished he hadn't. The sight of the ship around him made him wonder just who had him and why they couldn't manage more upgrades or a whole new ship all together. The exposed panels near him caught his eye, thinking he could be able to use some of the wiring to get him out of his current predicament. It would have worked too, if he hadn't had his arms tied behind his back and to something else equally strong.

Hux wondered where the man with the long hair had gone. From their brief conversation in his rooms he figured that he was the one in charge of the operation, but maybe he had just been working grunt work for the other, smaller, man? Either way, Hux had no way to tell where they were now, and the ship was suspiciously quiet.

The tie that held his hands behind his back didn't feel very secure, not if he worked a them enough. Shuffling to get himself into position, Hux began to twist his wrists around, trying to see if there was some way the men had been careless enough to leave them just enough slack to find his way out. They hadn't been, but right when he began to feel like there had been some progress made, he heard a loud crash and cursing followed.

 

#

 

"Kriffing ship, can't ever stay in once piece!" Ben called over his shoulder, "Poe! Come here and help me patch this up!"

Poe put the controls on autopilot and came over to Ben's side only to see the insides of the  _ Falcon _ strewn all about the floor in a heap. He didn't know how Ben was supposed to know what was what, even though he was a pilot himself; neither of them were very good engineers. 

"What do you need?" 

Ben shuffled around in a box and eventually pulled something round out."Tape up that line right there, it's about to burst." 

The item Ben threw at him was a roll of patching, and Poe got to it right away. Once he was done he looked up at Ben, wondering what was on the other man's mind.

"Do you think our General has woken up yet?" 

Ben looked in the direction of where they had left him, his brow furrowed like he was sensing for the answer."Yes, I think so." His lip quirked up on the side and he turned to make his way to their newest addition.

Seeing the man for the second time, in person and not just on a holo, was strange. Ben felt like there was supposed to be something more to the situation than he saw. There was nothing special about him, his hair and ever present scowl were the most notable of his features. Ben had done his best, or at least close enough to it, to learn about the Order from the moment he felt a disturbance in the Force; one he could feel presently, if not very strongly. Seeing his hands cuffed behind his back felt fitting, in a way.

"Good, you're up, I hope the turbulence didn't shake you up too much." The general jumped when Ben spoke, almost as if he hadn't known Ben was standing there. He sniffed and looked down his nose as much as he was able.

"Of course not, I was a little too unconscious to notice." Ben had to fight to keep his expression blank at that. He’d been expecting that the man would have been just another one of the mindless military men his mother had had to schmooze over her career, not this.  _ This _ being a man, who despite not knowing his future, still spoke like he was comfortably in his own territory. Ben hummed.

"What did you do to me?" He demanded, and Ben was tempted to tell him something he would hardly believe, just to see if the General would believe him. Instead he crouched down to be level with the man's eyes and studied him.

"I made you fall asleep so that you would come with us, although," he cocked his head to the side in a play of thoughtfulness, "it would have been better if you could have walked us out." 

"I suppose you think you're very clever. Who do you plan to sell me to, then?" Ben's eyes widened without his permission.  _ Sell him? How high was the bounty on his head, dead or alive? _

"I was thinking a Hutt, an obvious choice, you know? But now that I think about it," he paused for effect, taking the time to play this out as long as he could before his mother did gods knew what with him once they arrived. "Why not General Leia? I'm sure the leader of the Resistance would love to have her rival on a platter."

The man sputtered as his face turned an interesting shade of red, Ben wondered if he had ever looked like that when he was in a rage. The sound of his boots on the floorboards covered any sounds of protest that might have followed him out of the corridor.

“How did it go?" Poe asked him the second he got back to the cockpit, not bothering to look over at him, too focused on something flashing in front of him. Ben sighed.

"I told him we're selling him to the leader of the Resistance."

 

#

 

Hux knew the second the ship had landed. In fact, he had known before when the pressure changed as they entered the atmosphere. In a newer ship, that wouldn't have been noticeable, but he was slowly learning that this ship was in disrepair. It was only through sanctions and Snoke's connections that the Order was able to obtain the technology and resources that they had.

"Time to get up, General," the man with the long hair was back. "We're here."

Hux wanted to groan, he hadn't been able to get his hands out of the cuffs holding him to the wall, but there was a faint possibility that his tracker was still working. Snoke would surely send someone to meet up with him, Hux was the only person in the Order who knew the full extent of the plans for the Order besides the Supreme Leader himself, and he had never shown a desire to directly meddle in the Order's affairs.

The second he had been released he felt tempted to do something, but objectively knew that there was nothing he could do, not until later. The smaller man was watching the other one, the one with the long hair. Hux detected something had passed between them and wondered what it meant for him.

Once their checks had been done, they hauled him off the ship and into the slightly humid atmosphere of a lush planet. Hux supposed they had taken him to their base, somewhere they could hide from their Senate. He considered what was around him, everything was green and reminded him of – another place. He could see beings of all forms milling about, doing tasks. Unfortunately, the second they caught sight of their little party, they stopped and stared. It was enough to make his teeth itch.

"Ben!" Someone shouted, running towards them. "General Leia told me to bring him straight into a briefing room. This way."  _ Ben? _ Hux watched as they looked away fast, as if looking at either him or the man with the long hair, Ben, was not proper.  _ Ben _ , he mused to himself.

The second they entered the complex, a small gathering of squat buildings in an obvious state of disrepair, they were led down a short hallways and deposited outside of a plain door with nothing to show what was inside.

Ben knocked. "Enter," came a voice from inside. Hux had heard that voice many times over the years: Leia Organa. A small itch that had begun to brew under his notice suddenly began to trickle out into him. The door was opened and before him stood the most underwhelming woman, simple but for the hairstyle that looked like a crown and a blaster hanging off her belt. Her eyes, on the other hand, seemed to look straight into him and he felt the shiver before it even passed down his spine. They made him feel naked.

"Thank you, Poe," she said, smiling at the other man. He nodded and took it as the dismissal it was, hurrying down the hall. Ben stood there, awkwardly still clutching his arm and staring at the smaller woman as if waiting for himself to be dismissed. Her lips pursed and he threw his shoulders back, ready for a fight.

"Cuff him there." She pointed to a hoop set into the table standing in the middle of the room. It looked steady enough to hold him, but he was sure he wouldn't get far regardless. Ben had made him pass out and he hadn't noticed any substance around him at the time to make it happen. There was something else about him, Hux was sure.

Ben took him around the table and attached his cuffs to the hoop, maneuvering his hands away from any direct contact with Hux. When he was done and General Leia was seated, he took a place behind her by the door, slouching into the structure. He attempted to look away from her eyes, but felt unable to move even a single muscle, pinned like an experiment under observation.

 

#

 

"Your plans for Starkiller have been intercepted." 

Ben had heard Leia interrogate people before, but never with the tone she had just used. It was light, almost conversational. Hux raised a brow at her; he had yet to speak since the ship. 

"I would like to offer the Order a set of terms."

"The Order does not bargain with scum," the words were said with venom, but Ben could sense that there was little force behind it, other than a constant sense of observation. He frowned. "We will not be intimidated by you."

Leia hummed, "not even if it would work in your favor?" It was Hux's turn to frown. Ben assumed that he wondered how any deal with their opposition could work in their favor. They had little to bargain with.

"What do you have to offer?" 

Ben looked over at Leia, wondering as well. She had never been one to divulge her plans to any others but herself and those essential to the plan.

"A position in the Senate, representing the Order and their agenda." Hux's eyes widened, subtly, and Ben wondered how Leia thought that would be possible.

Ben wondered what was going through the other man's head, nearly tempted enough to look inside, to breach that final privacy. He knew he wouldn't, but the desire didn't fade. Hux's jaw twitched, as if he wasn't sure he wanted to talk.

"How?" 

Ben wondered how much of his pride Hux had to sacrifice in order to ask. Leia looked satisfied, like he had played right into her hands.

"A political alliance," her head tilted in Ben's direction, "and an introduction." Hux looked up at Ben, eyes flashing. Ben's head cocked to the side, wondering what Leia had meant, why Hux was looking at him as if he was about to be eaten alive.

"You want to put me on a leash." It was a statement, a fact. Ben supposed he was right, though. Leia would want to use him if she got the chance, her political alliance was a joke.

Leia nodded, "in a manner of speaking."

Again, "how?"

Leia looked back at Ben once more, he couldn't tell if her eyes were sad or concerned, but Ben had a feeling she was warning him against something. Lashing out most likely.

"You are going to marry my son." Ben watched as Hux's eyes grew large, and then confused as if he was watching from a holo screen. It didn't occur to him to to think that Leia was talking about him and not some other poor sod.

Hux looked unimpressed while Ben was trying to corral his emotions into a semblance of sense, standing shock still and waiting for an answer from the universe as to why Leia thought this was a good idea.

Before Ben could gain control of his tongue to ask, Hux replied in a flat voice: "I see." He frowned.  _ I see _ ? That was it? The famed and feared General of the Order wasn't going to object to being captured and released into a cage with a baby monitor? Ben was baffled, and more than a little angry.  _ That explains the look she gave me,  _ he thought to himself.

"When will I be meeting your son?" He asked, jerking Ben out of his growing anger. Leia let out a short chuckle.

"You already have." Her head tilted back in Ben's direction. Hux's eyes narrowed, as if he was trying to think about who he had come into contact with, then, as if the gravity of the situation dawned on him, his eyes widened. He looked up at Ben, who was trying to act as if he had known Leia's plan all along, as if it was all a part of the game he intended to play.

"I see," he said once again, "Ben, is it?" Ben refused to do more than stare at the question.

There had to be a way that Leia had thought this out, a way that this was all just a ploy for Hux and the Order. There was no way he was going to let Leia dictate whether or not he tied himself to someone and how he did. Ben had given enough for Luke, and even more for the Resistance.

The door's slam echoed down the hall as Ben strode away. He walked as fast as he dared down the halls and out into the sun, the planet taunting him by looking as if the best of news had just been delivered and not something that would ultimately make him more miserable than he already was.

Ben was lost as to why Leia had thought that was the best course of action, how this was the only plan – or at least the one she decided on – that would benefit their agenda. It was true that the terms would satisfy the Order, in a way, but that was only half of it.  _ What about me?  _ He thought. Was he just collateral for both of the Generals? They both get what they want, but did they consider what he wanted?

In terms of the Order, Ben was confused due to the fact that their goal was to replace the New Republic. How did having a position in the Senate help them? It would give them a voice via Hux, but Ben doubted very much that the Order stating its goals would sway many. The terms helped the Resistance more than anything, Leia would prevent the destruction of worlds all the while keeping their leader under her thumb tethered to her son. It was a small favor for her, letting the Order into the Inner Rim, giving them a slight foothold they couldn't deny, even if it wouldn't do much for them in the long run. Ben pondered if Leia thought this was a sacrifice she assumed he would be willing to make. Ben didn't know if it was himself. Did he believe in the sacrifice he was about to make was worth the supposed outcome? 

He had never been a good Jedi, he had left the new order years ago, but there were few teachings he had clung to, and Hux would ruin them for good. If Ben went with what Leia had planned, tying Hux to himself, Ben would never be able to go back. He would be entering a new life, no matter how small the changes were. No one had asked him if that was what he wanted.

 

Ben had left the compound and slept in the  _ Falcon _ the night before, refusing to give either Leia or Hux a chance to find him, or worse, talk to him. It was a combination of wanting to avoid an outburst (whether from shame or fear was something he refused to answer for himself) and wanting to pretend that nothing had changed for him. Ben acknowledged that he was becoming Han more and more, avoiding responsibility by sleeping in a beat up ship like a coward. At some point he realized there would be no avoiding Leia.

The walk from the landing zone and the compound was short, people bustling around no matter the hour. As small as the Resistance was, there was no shortage of people willing to support the famed Princess of Alderaan. Along the way Ben spied a child, he couldn't have been more than nine. The boy looked lost, as if seeing everything around him for the first time. The moment he saw Ben his eyes narrowed and his jaw was set in what Ben would call arrogance. The further he walked towards the building, the closer the boy tailed him. Eventually Ben came to a stop, waiting for him to catch up.

"Why are you following me?" Ben asked, he had tried to make his voice sound as pleasant as he could given his mood, but the boy seemed not to even notice he had spoken. Ben frowned, "hello?" he tried again.

"Ben! Good thing I found you, man," Ben wanted to groan, dealing with Poe and his constant disapproval was just the addition to his day he didn't need. "Leia's waiting for you, been looking all morning."

"You mean she sent you to look for me." He said instead, the idea of Leia actually taking the time to look for him personally was a joke. Poe's face shuttered slightly at his tone. Ben sighed.

"Thanks," he tried to sound slightly apologetic, though Poe didn't seem very impressed. "In the interrogation room?" he asked, already walking away, Poe nodded. The kid was gone and Ben wondered if Poe had scared him off. He would have liked to think so.

Ben went the same way to the room as he had the day before wondering if Leia was going to have Hux there as well. He imagined her forcefully chaining them together and parading them about the Republic as a symbol, as far as Ben could tell, his future didn't seem much different, only the words to describe it.

When Ben reached the door he didn't bother to knock before walking in. Seated in the same places as yesterday, almost as if they hadn't moved all night, and for all he knew, they hadn't. Hux's eyes were red and there were bags forming underneath, Ben wondered why the stress of having his life planned out was more on him than running an entire militant faction.

"Ben, you're grounded." Ben wondered if Leia had always practiced that line in the 'fresher when he was a kid and only now had the chance to use it. "You will not be leaving this planet until everything has been finalized, and even then I suspect you will only be leaving in order to come with Hux to Coruscant." Ben glanced over to the other man, wanting to know what he thought of her demands. Assumedly he would have been told the same thing.

Hux looked as he had since they had brought him to the base and Ben was beginning to think that he was a droid with his lack of displayed emotions. If only because he was angry about his own situation, Ben wanted to make Hux react. Anything would do, but he wished for an eruption. Something to prove Hux was unhappy about this as he was. Something to prove Hux was his equal. 

Hux's eyes had been planted on the far side of the room since he had walked in, not even bothering to look up at him. Ben felt slighted by the lack of acknowledgement. His whole life had felt like a lack of acknowledgment, and now, if Leia were to have her way, he would be irrevocably tied to this man and that trend would not soon change. The lack of care with which they had handled him made him feel like he had never left Luke. That treating him like a game piece was for the "greater good" and he should be glad to play his part.

That was the difference between him and Luke, for as much as Luke wanted to revive the Jedi and be one himself, most of their learnings had been lost and Ben felt his path tugged in a different direction than what Luke had wanted of him. Neither knew if what they were doing was correct or not, but Ben remembered him say once that if something was right it would feel right. To trust in the Force. Ben didn't know how he could trust in the Force if it meant he would belong to someone other than himself.

Leia jolted him from his thoughts by standing up from her chair. The motion was fluid, but Ben could see that she was tired and was trying not to show it. She probably thought it was a weakness she couldn't afford to show to the enemy.

"Hux will be staying with you until we reach Coruscant." 

He wanted to be surprised, but most of what Ben could feel was frustration. Anger. He watched as Hux raised his eyes to meet his for the first time. He could see nothing there, but when facing him directly, Hux looked terrible. Ben could tell he was not doing as well as his calm demeanor had appeared. A small, and little indulged, part of himself felt justified in it. It may not have been an outburst to match his own, but it was something that made Hux human.

 

#

 

Sometime later, Ben came to the realization that Leia had left them and he had been staring at Hux for however long it had been. He didn't know if he should feel embarrassed or disregard it all together. Seeing as Hux didn't seem very interested in giving him any attention, Ben assumed the latter would be best. In his bid to make himself feel less uncomfortable, he pulled out the chair that Leia had vacated and sat down with little grace.

He assumed they should talk, or do something, but Ben refused to be the first to engage. Hux continued to look around the room as if he would find something there that hadn't been there five ticks before.

It came as a shock, then, when the door to the room was opened with a loud bang, only to reveal Poe. Ben noticed that he was breathing hard, almost like he had run there. A few stray curls were beginning to stick to his neck with sweat.

As curious as Ben was as to the reason for Poe's intrusion, his mouth sealed itself firmly shut.

"So, who talks first?" Poe looked from Hux, then back to Ben, "you talk first? I talk first?"

No response led him to huff under his breath and shake his head, "Okay, well. General Leia requested Hux be taken to the tactics room to explain the files we recovered." Ben nodded and watched as Hux was led from the room. He assumed the meeting was to confirm what they knew already, in order to validate Hux as an asset, and almost without his permission, he got up to follow them out.

The distance between almost any room on base was very short – though there were plenty of rooms, they were small rooms. The tactics room was by far one of the biggest they had, mostly due to the wide range of species and the number of them they had to fit into one space. Ben chose a place by the doors and watched as others filtered in. There were only a few that Leia had deemed important enough for them to see the information and, supposedly, see Hux explain it. The man himself was sitting still, back looking like there had been a rod shoved up his ass, and looking to the distance as if nothing in the room was worth his attention. Ben was beginning to assume that was Hux's default response to everything.

He risked a small glimpse of the others mind, not enough to let anyone sense what he was doing, but enough to get the general sense of what the other man was feeling. Ben was shocked at the combination of interest and satisfaction, the latter most surprising and curious.  _ What about him being a political hostage would make him feel that? _ Ben wondered, baffled and indecisive about telling another person or not.

He knew the second that Leia had entered the room, everyone became silent and respectful; all glancing at the doorway by where he stood. The tension seemed to grow as she went to take her seat, eyes flitting between Hux and their General.

Although Hux had been wearing cuffs since his arrival, the man exuded an aura of confidence and surety that Ben knew from his brief stint into the man's mind earlier was not purely a facade. Many beings around the table shuffled on their appendages as Leia plugged the holocron into the projector, showing an image of a planet.

"Hux," she addressed him, and Ben watched as his jaw seemed to clench at the lack of rank. "Would you like to explain what this is?"

His lips thinned, "a planet," Ben snorted at the long pause that followed, the implication that he was done explaining something so basic, was amusing. "That the Order agreed was suitable for our new base."

Leia pushed forward, determined to ignore the slight at their intelligence, "Starkiller base, designed to house a cannon so great, it would suck a sun dry." She looked about the room, making eye contact with as many as she could. "Able to kill multiple planets, destroying the Republic." At the statement, a large, collective gasp resonated around the room. questions flooded the room from every angle, voices battling to be heard. Chaos.

The emotions that had been fairly controlled, if not tense, were permeating the air around Ben. Driving up his mental walls and pounding against them. It made his vision swim in and out of focus, making it hard for him to find his way out of the room. 

 

#

 

The second Ben left, he was able to breathe. The atmosphere inside the room had been beyond stifling, making it harder to breathe and focus. As much as he wanted to see what would happen next, wanted to watch Hux and his reactions to the situation, he had to leave. Ben knew his shields were not as strong as they could have been, had not been as strong as they once were from the second he left Luke's guidance. There had been a strength, being with Luke on a planet lost in space, that he could not find alone and surrounded with people and their loud thoughts.

His mother had called for him, and in his weakness for attachment, as the old Jedi would have called it, he came to her aid. After a time of doing a series of small, almost meaningless jobs, he knew that that was all she had been asking of him. He had dashed out of his peace, or as close to it as he had ever gotten, to help her, and all he had been able to do was salvage a few petty supply runs and guarantee the base one more bit of protection. Leia had not seen in him anything greater, and Ben had stewed in it for years. Until now.

Leia had finally found a use for him, and Ben could not have found himself more furious. The only use he could have for her, or the Resistance, was to serve as a leash for the figurehead of the Order. There was no question as to his desires, to his opinion, to him at all.  _ That's all I'll ever be to her _ , he thought to himself.

The path that lead away from the base and into the forest surrounding it was thin and barely used. Ben could tell that no one walked it often, much too busy to wander around. There were no Force signatures in the surrounding area, and Ben let himself feel. Feel the anger that burned in him, the anguish that pulled in his throat at the direction his life would inevitably go.

His fist connected with the trunk of the nearest tree, but Ben felt nothing, swinging his other hand around to meet the dent he had already made. There was the sound of a winged animal taking flight at the disturbance.

He sighed, looking down at his matching knuckles. His anger still burned just under the surface, for for the time being, he was able to breathe. There had to be a way all of this would be beneficial to him, something that he couldn't see yet. If only he could find it, if he could get a leg up on it, all of this could be bearable. Ben then decided that if he was going to be used a pawn then he could do the same to them. It was only fair.

The breathing techniques that his uncle had taught him helped marginally; he was able to breathe better now, and try to focus, but being calm had never been his strong suit. There had been a point at the temple where he had felt close to achieving what Luke told him he could, but it had only taken a comment muttered in his direction to set him off again. At the time, nothing had made him feel more like a failure. He had not been able to do a single thing Luke wanted him to, and therefore he was not capable of being a Jedi.

_ This is not your path _ , Luke had said.  _ You're no Jedi _ , something else, deep inside him, would whisper when he would spiral after a spectacular failure. Ben had not heard that voice since he had been a child, and he was sure that he had managed to do something right for once in the choice of abandoning that path. And Luke had been right about one thing: that voice was not a friend.

After a time, the dark set in and Ben became aware of the time that had passed, almost without him noticing. The local wildlife was very unobtrusive and made little to no noise, but Ben found it to be reassuring. Next to the hustle and bustle of Coruscant, it was peace.

On the path leading back to the base, something flickered between the trees. Ben swore he saw a flash of blond hair, like the boy from before.

"Why are you out here?" he asked, more curious than concerned. What some kid did was nothing he wanted to worry about, but the strangeness about the boy kept him engaged.

He was unsurprised to not receive an answer, but the humid cold of the planet at night was setting in, and Ben could no longer ignore going back onto base. The trek was brisk and he could almost forget what he was walking back into when he keyed open the door to his room.

"Hello," Hux’s voice seemed to ring in his ears, almost not real.


	2. Chapter 2

Arriving on Coruscant had been almost anti-climatic, there were not large crowds of people cheering for the return of the Resistance, or crowds protesting the arrival of the First Order General himself. Hux was almost disappointed, but disappointment meant that he had had expectations to begin with, and he refused to believe they had ever existed in the first place.

The journey had been filled with tension and uncomfortable staring, admittedly from both himself and Ben, but there had been little else to do. They had refused to give him his own room, and as a political prisoner or war, he had to be treated with "respect", but Leia was too shrewd to actually let him out of her sight. Ben was to be his keeper, until he proved himself and Hux had no hopes of that ever being a possibility.

The rooms on Coruscant were the finest, if a little small, he had ever been in, and Hux intended to enjoy what little luxury he was given. No amount of Ben's scrutiny could stop him. Growing up on Arkanis had been one thing after another. Nothing worked properly, and no amount of hired staff could change the downtrodden feel of the place. Even his father's place as Commandant could afford them much after the fall of the Empire, left to peddle away their meager fortunes in order to find ways of living without an Emperor's favor.

Although his father had kept on a small staff, Hux had never known fortune, but Ben did. As much as both Ben and Leia looked like they never touched their credit accounts, he knew that they were far from poor, but Leia would not morally condone using it in excess when there were people she wanted to help that didn't have such access. Hux sneered. Leia was _good_ but there were things she missed, that the whole New Republic missed. The whole Outer Rim for example.

In his initial research as a young cadet, Hux had been frustrated that there were people in the New Republic that had ‘fought’ for more rights and reform that the Empire had ‘ruined,’ but they never so much as left the Mid Rim. Hux, and most of his father's children, were left to fend for themselves after the fall, and there was no Resistance to help them. Until the Order. Hux was proud of his position in the Order, he was going to make things better by bringing organization to the Outer Rim.

"Hux," Ben called through the room, searching for him as if he hadn't taken up residence in the back room and seldom left it. "Is there anyone you would like to invite to the bonding?" The question made him pause; there was no one Hux could reasonably bring to the Core. The fact he lad let his guard down enough to be _stolen_ by Ben Solo-Organa of all people, was not something he wanted to broadcast.

He pushed the button to open the doors to his rooms, their rooms, but Ben had refused to join him and Hux would gladly say he was relieved.

"No," he said, and Ben's eyes flickered from his eyes to his hands, seeing that he had balled them up. "There is no one to invite, but contacting Captain Phasma would not go amiss."

Ben nodded.

 

~ . ~

 

He's in my room _, Ben thought,_ my room! _As if that would somehow make the reason more obvious. The intrusion made him feel like there was nothing left to him that was free for him to be alone. That he would somehow be pushed out of his own spaces, little by little. That his mother and Hux would steal everything from him._

_"That pilot shoved me in here," Hux said by way of explanation, still sitting on his bed as if it was his. Af if this wasn't one of the last places Ben was able to truly call his own. "Your mother wants me watched, but it would be rude of her and her Resistance to keep me in a cell, I think."_

_He nodded, breathing in time with the counts in his head, something Luke had taught him to do when he was angry or agitated. It almost never worked, but he was exhausted from his outburst earlier and there was little else to do. He walked far enough into the room to let the door slide shut automatically behind him._

_There was only one bed in the room, only big enough for one person on it at a time, and there was no way he was going to willingly share that space,_ my space _, he added to himself, with Hux. There was a small desk covered in spare parts and bits of destroyed things he had tried to salvage, in the corner of the room. The chair that had come with it was uncomfortable and creaky, but Ben resigned himself to spending the night in it. He was sure Han knew the feeling._

_Hux sighed. "You are aware that I am just as stuck in this situation as you are, aren't you?" Ben looked at his eyes, unconsciously noting that they seemed both blue and green at different times, and nodded reluctantly._

_"Yeah, I know," he said, trying to find it in himself to extend the olive branch in a small way, "hell, I brought you here." He winced, that was probably not the best thing he could have said to Hux. Trying to be funny had never won him any favors._

_Hux nodded, "you did, but if you don't kill me," his lips twitched up in the corners, "then this might be the change the Order has been looking for." Ben wasn't so easily amused._

_"I might not be motivated the way Leia is, but that doesn't mean I want to help your Order." he said._

_Hux paused, tilting his head to the side. "You know nothing about the Order." It wasn't a challenge, yet Ben felt his own temper beginning to flare. Hux's statement was true, but the insinuation that Ben didn't know something was always a point against his pride, and Ben had always had a lot of pride._

_"Reviving the Empire isn't a change anyone but your little group wants." He sneered, waiting to see if Hux would admit it. He didn't._

_"It isn't the Empire we're after," he met Ben's gaze with unblinking eyes, seeming to pierce his soul, "it's more. It's Order, for the whole galaxy. Not just your Inner Core." Ben scoffed, there had never been a pure politician, or militant leader – whichever Hux wanted to call himself – ever. Nothing in their current New Republic could claim to care about all the galaxy’s beings, but Ben had always supposed that it stemmed from the impossibility of existence; that no true peace or compassion could truly exist._

_"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Hux continued, "you've never had to work for a thing in your life, your mother was a_ Princess _." He didn't say of a dead planet, that much was implied. And he was right; Ben didn't know, but that also didn't mean he was devoid of the experience of pain and suffering._

_Hux shifted on the bed, slowly sliding his arms out of the large coat he had taken to wearing at all times. Ben sat in silence as the man made himself comfortable on Ben's bed, like he had a right to be there._

_Just as Hux was about to lie down, he looked over at Ben and bit his lip lightly, "I'll make you a deal," Ben raised a brow, "let your mother decide what happens, let me play her game, and you can leave."_

_"What?" he asked dumbly._

_"You can't be forced to stay with me forever, one day your mother will see that it's pointless," Hux paused, thinking about his next words, "not least of all because I won't need watching." He nodded at Ben and he took the hint to dim the lights._

_Hux didn't expect Ben to join him on the bed, and he was unsurprised to wake with the man gone._

 

~ . ~

 

Hux was unsurprised when he learned Snoke would not be joining them for the bonding, there had been no reason for a hiccup this small to require his personal attention. If anything, it was better this way; the Rebels wouldn't have to learn of the Supreme Leader's existence sooner than they needed to.

Hux had not been allowed any device for communication since his apprehension, and it came as a mild shock when Ben handed him a comm and told him to relay the details to his crew. His crew being, as he later found out, Phasma and Mitaka. Hux had only just barely managed to keep his face from flaring up in red at his shame when Phasma's face appeared on the projector.

"Captain," he greeted her, "how is the _Finalizer_?" As much as he cared for his ship, his first real post and on the Order's flagship no less, he wanted to know how she was. Phasma might have been cold and standoffish, but Hux knew it was her way. And she cared, even if she would go through a trash compactor before she admitted it.

Her voice sounded almost droid like through her helmet. "The _Finalizer_ survives your absence, General. We are expecting to land shortly."

Hux noticed her pause, knowing there was more she wanted to say. "I will be pleased to see you, even under such," his face betrayed his distaste, "unpleasant circumstances."

"And you, sir." She nodded her head, always formal when others could be watching. A few ticks later and the communication cut off, neither having much left to say.

Hux had not seen Ben since that morning, and he wondered where his keeper had been hauled off to, or knowing the man was want to sulk, where he had slunk off to. There was very little to do but wait around for Leia to tell him where she wanted him and play along. He was sure, at some point, he would be given enough ‘freedom’ to return to his ship and contact Snoke. Until then, Hux decided, he would play their game. The Order's goals were bigger than this.

The opening of the door to his rooms made him turn to see Ben walking in, head down and not meeting his eyes. Hux had thought the night before had struck a chord with him, that telling the other man he would find him a way out for him would have helped. That Ben would no longer address him like he had. He let out a breath.

"What?" Ben asked, finally looking up, and crossing his arms to protect himself.

"Nothing," Hux said, then decided that wasn't enough, "I think I had expected you to change after our talk, but now I see that's not who you are." Ben laughed, there was little humor to it, but Hux counted that as a victory nonetheless.

"Making me your own pawn isn't exactly how to get close to me," Ben said, but the words had lost the edge from before. Hux wanted to know what the man really thought of him, what he planned to do about their situation, because there was no way he didn't have his own plan.

"I can see that, but I would like to work together rather than against each other," Hux murmured and stepped closer into Ben’s space. "It will make this more enjoyable for the both of us."

"I can see that," he said, voice deep. Ben reached out a hand and dragged one, calloused, fingertip along the edge of Hux's jawline. "General." Hux's pulse beat faster, his eyes expanding to take more of the man in. That had not been what he intended, but no less rewarding. He moved to take the last step towards Ben when the door opened to reveal the pilot.

"Whoah, tone down the glare there, General. Didn't mean to intrude, but the clock is ticking and it's almost showtime!" His smile was strained in the corners, and his eyes flicked between the two with suspicion. Hux wondered what his little brain was coming up with.

Poe turned and walked back out the door, expecting them to follow. Hux took the opportunity to touch his hand briefly to Ben's back on his way out the door. _Testing the waters_ , he told himself as Ben leaned slightly into him.

 

#

 

The room Leia had deemed appropriate for their bonding was a large conference room in the Senate building, usually for talking over bills, now cleared of all furnishings and filled with beings from across the galaxy to witness the taming of their unspoken threat. Hux smiled to himself, spying Ben in the corner of his eye, standing at the head of the room waiting for Hux.

Poe had escorted them from their room and shoved them into individual spaces to change into formal clothes that had been tailored without Hux's knowledge. He had been handed a finer version of his uniform, the Order's logo on the shoulder. There hadn't been a chance to see what Ben had been given, but when he walked into the room from a door at the end of the hall, he was pleased.

Leia had gone far enough to acknowledge Ben's Jedi heritage, having him dressed in black robes that hugged his torso and allowed for movement. He looked dangerous.

"We match," he said under his breath at Ben when he reached the small platform. Ben nodded and looked out over the crowd, large enough to make Hux preen.

"We do," and when Ben looked at him, he said, "you look powerful."

Hux nodded his head at Ben, "you look dangerous." He smirked.

Someone behind them, facing the room, cleared their throat. Hux turned to see who it was, surprised to come face to face with Leia herself. Hux was impressed she would be taking on such a role for herself, he had assumed that she would be the perfect spectator and playing her part as a part of the new Senate. The fact that she was taking on such a big role proved to not only the Senate, but to the New Republic, that she had been right in her speculation of the Order's existence. It was a moment of small triumph for her, Hux recognized.

Preparing to hear a long winded speech about the current triumphs for the New Republic and the new opportunities awarded to them as a result of the current ‘political’ developments, Hux was surprised to hear another clear their throat, all eyes turning to them. Phasma, Hux realized.

She had forgone her armor in lieu of a formal dress uniform much like his own. Her hair fell in soft waves to the sides of her face, her very stoic face. Hux mused to himself that she didn't need the helmet to mask her expressions.

"The Order has a request," she said, voice clear as it run out across the room. "We would be honored if you would both wear these, General."

The cuffs she held up were beautiful, rose gold and emanating power. A power he knew Ben could feel, a power he wanted to touch.

"Wear them?" Ben asked, already reaching out to grab the cuffs, not heeding the caution Hux would have. Phasma nodded, opening them and holding out the open cuffs for them to place their hands in. Hux was only just after Ben to place his hand in the open metal, the closer he got to touching it, the more he could feel a faint vibration against his wrist.

The second the cuffs were clasped into place, Hux had noted somewhere along the way that there was no visible seam where they would open again, the vibrations encased his being. He thought he heard a gasp from beside him. The air seemed to rise and fall, colors he had never seen before, swirled around his eyes and sunk into his chest, following the links of the chain to the person beside him. Ben. No, _Kylo._

He couldn't hear anything beside a pounding in his ears and a smaller, slightly off beat, pounding from beside him. The colors seemed to never end, and when he looked to the side, they seemed to almost originate from the man beside him. Radiating off of him and swirling down the chain. Hux had never felt so alive.

"Hux?" Someone beside him asked, "Hux, you need to focus." Kylo, he realized. He nodded, or at least he thought he had nodded.

"That's you, isn't it?" He asked, still focused on the colors, and vibrations that were more subtle. He could feel a shift in the energy as Kylo turned to face him, and arm closing in on his shoulder. Grounding him.

"Yes," he said, "can you open your eyes?" Hux was momentarily confused, weren't his eyes already open? He could see infinite colors all around them. Then, he realized, he couldn't see Kylo, or Phasma.

The second his eyes came into focus and he could see the concerned tilt of Kylo's eyebrows, he gasped out, "you live like this? Feel all of this?"

Kylo nodded and tightened his grip on Hux's shoulder. "All the time." The small smile was only partly self deprecating, but he could tell Kylo was trying to be helpful. Hux took a moment to look around the room and came back to Leia, who stood patiently waiting, as if Hux had not just discovered the secrets to the universe itself.

"As per this arrangement, please place your hand on the pad." Leia held out a pad for him to place his hand upon.

"Say your binding words and sign at the bottom, please." She told him, holding out another for Kylo. Both he and Hux repeated the words Poe had told them earlier and placed their hands on the screen, being scanned and signing their consent.

"The legal binding is now complete." Leia told them, moving down from her perch to mingle with the crowd that was just beginning to move from their perches.

Hux was confused, "That's all?" he asked, only Kylo was close enough to hear him. Hux could feel how close.

"Did you expect something more?" Kylo asked, looking over at him, noting how crisp and clean the other man appeared in his dress uniform. Powerful indeed.

Hux cocked his head to the side, "I'm not sure what I expected. A bit rushed, it seemed." Kylo nodded. His life had just changed, passed a pivotal point, and yet; he felt no different. Simply confused, and a little shocked. The colors had changed, before they had been a contained storm of green and purple, but now, Hux could see smaller glimpses of a deep red. His lips turned up a little at the corners.

 

#

 

The afterparty that Kylo was almost tempted to call a reception had been shorter and more perfunctory than he had imagined. A few politicians had stayed to chat with Leia, barely anyone had stayed to say anything to either Hux or himself. Phasma had become Hux's shadow the second formalities had ended, following him wherever he went. Which, as a result of the chain that seemed to have no opening, Kylo had been forced to follow as well.

The cuffs and chain were the most distracting element of the night by far. There had been something about them that he had been able to feel before Phasma had even taken them out of the box they had arrived in. The Force was concentrated strongly around them, it almost felt as if they had been forged in the Force itself. And the rush of feeling that had come when they had been locked in place had been like nothing he had ever felt before. The Force had come swirling into view faster than meditation could have allowed for, and he could _feel_ Hux, almost like had been standing inside the man's skin.

Kylo could also tell that Hux was seeing everything the way he could, the gasp he had let out was just shy of incredible. Kylo could feel his elation and confusion, his amazement and his excitement. Feeling Hux had been intense, and Kylo had almost been disappointed to know when Hux had gained control of himself once more. They still didn't know how the things came off, Phasma acted as if she had forgotten they were still connected, and Hux was controllably marveling in the Force all around them. In Kylo.

People were leaving, little by little. Kylo had even seen Poe disappear with a man with dark skin not too long ago.

"What now?" He asked, looking over to Hux, waiting to see what the other man would say. Would feel. He tugged slightly on his wrist.

"I have an idea," and Hux was more than happy to leave the conference room, even with the cuff tugging at his wrist, a constant reminder that he was now connected to the man in front of him. He still had yet to reconcile with that idea fully.

Kylo ended up dragging him outside of the building and onto a speeder. Hux wanted to ask where they were going, he wanted to ask about Kylo. Hux wanted to ask about the cuffs. The seats of the speeder were of an older fashion, one before the other and he watched as Kylo go on before him, gesturing for Hux to hold onto his waist.

"This is not what I had in mind," he mumbled, attempting to make sure the man didn't see his red face at their close proximity. He felt Kylo's chest rumble as he let out a soft chuckle. The wind of the atmosphere rushed through his hair, tearing it out of the perfectly gelled confines as they flew over the towering skyline of the world city. He hugged Kylo closer, elation growing in his chest, feeling free for the first time in what felt like forever.

Hux had closed his eyes, feeling everything around him. When Kylo began to bring the speeder down to a landing pad, he was shocked to see a shuttle parking space. Hundreds of parked shuttles all around them, just waiting to go back into space. To larger vessels.

"Which one is yours?" Kylo asked him, leaning back so that his face was just a hairsbreadth away. Hux could count his eyelashes. He had a lot.

He pointed at one of the newest models in the lot, no markings could be seen on it, but Hux knew Phasma was an excellent pilot and wouldn't let anything happen to his things. Kylo nodded and leapt off of the speeder and headed towards it, expecting Hux to follow. He did.

Without speaking, Hux keyed open the doors and let Kylo take the lead in the pilot's seat, already knowing he was a decent pilot. And the fact that they were still connected and Hux was sure that it would affect his own meager abilities.

"Where are we going?" He asked, realizing he had been following Kylo blindly. Kylo smiled over at him as he began the start sequence.

"Your ship," he said, as if that would have been the obvious choice, and maybe it was. The feelings from the cuffs had not gone away, only Hux was beginning to adjust to the sensations. He could still feel Kylo, feel hints at what he thought were the man's feelings. He nodded and leaned back in his seat, watching as they blasted through the atmosphere and into the stars.

The sight of his ship coming into view made him look over at Kylo, wanting to know what he thought of the _Finalizer_. Kylo's face was properly awed, and Hux felt a twinge of satisfaction at it.

"She's magnificent, isn't she?" He asked, subconsciously directing Kylo to the correct loading dock. Kylo nodded and maneuvered them into the right space, taking a moment to look at everything around them. The bustle of the officers around them, the white armor of the 'troopers, and the small fleet of TIE's in the hangar. It was impressive.

Hux motioned for Kylo to follow him, they walked along all of the slate gray corridors and passed few personnel on their way to the bridge. Kylo followed him closely, taking everything in with muted excitement he could feel leaking through the cuffs, the connection beginning to feel more and more natural. Right.

The second the large view port above the bridge came into view, Hux could feel Kylo's interest as well as amazement. The large windows allowed for them to feel like they were floating out in space, unhindered by anything. It was beautiful. They were lulled into a sense of calm that Kylo felt could only be found in space. There was something about being where they were, doing nothing but looking out of the _Finalizer's_ windows, standing next to each other, that felt like a premonition. He hummed.

Hux looked over and Kylo took the time to look into his eyes, searching to name the feeling that dwelled inside his chest. He was scared it would not be there if Hux was gone, but somehow, he knew better. Knew that Hux would not be leaving any time soon.

"I could love you." It was a fast, blurted statement that Kylo almost wished he could take back. Surely Hux would not feel the same, and surely he should not in the first place. But it had wormed its way under his skin faster than Kylo had been able to realize.

Hux's expression barely shifted. He hummed and reached for Kyllo’s hand, gripping it tight in his, as if he could explain himself with the touch rather than words. Kylo could feel the pulse in Hux's thumb, beating rapidly, and he wondered why Hux wouldn't say anything if he had had a reaction. Many things about Hux baffled him, but he was sure that the adventure of learning Hux would always be rewarding.

Kylo turned and looked at Hux with a sudden revelation, "you were the only one with access to those plans."

Hux nodded, looking into Kylo’s eyes with a passion that he had known existed just under the surface. Kylo had felt his mind when he saw the man enter his rooms on the _Finalizer_ , "I was." Kylo's eyes widened and he tensed in Hux's grip, only then realizing he had yet to let go.

"What are you planning?" he whispered, chains rattling faintly as Hux linked their hands together, looking out of the view port into the vastness of space.

 _They stood together, in front of a throne, before a huge viewport that Kylo knew belonged on the_ Finalizer, _their hands were clasped together, links holding the cuffs together hung between them. Content._

_Hux was beautiful, powerful with a pleased look on his face. Kylo wanted to look at him forever, wanted to spend eternity watching him gesture outside of the viewport with one hand, holding him with the other. Kylo wasn't sure what he was saying, but it made him cautious. His reservations clear on his face, but the contentment that radiated from Hux calmed him. Made him believe._

_Hux was so proud, so pleased, and Kylo knew he'd do anything to protect that._

_The red of his robes, the red in Hux's hair, the red that surrounded the cuffs on their wrists. Red._

"Everything."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, while I was working on this it came to me that there were so many opportunities for me to make this into a waaay bigger work and I'm really excited about that Idea. I don't have the specifics written down yet, still just ideas floating around, but I think this work has the potential to be something bigger (the biggest thing I've ever taken on if I did) and depending on the feedback I get from this, I'll start working on the rest of the story! Let me know what you think, and don't forget to give love to both [KyloKnightOfHux](http://kyloknightofhux.tumblr.com/) and [Bioticnerfherder](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/bioticnerfherder)!


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